The Money Bet of the Century

Money Betters-

Hmmmmm.....stifled again with my second pick. If I had excuses, I'd insert them now...but I'm a no excuses kind of guy. I sat down and wondered what it would take to shake this slump. Some superstitious folks would advise growing a beard, not showering, or perhaps some sort of ritualistic morning routine. I think you deserve better. In years past, the way we've broken out of a slump is to go to one of the MBOC's field correspondents. That's what will do this year. It's a tried and true way to turn the proverbial ship around. Without further delay, MBOC at-large correspondent Jeff Wood will be writing this week. I think you can expect GOOD things.....

Hello and welcome to week three of the MBOC. Dave is off to a slow start this year so I am here to help get the MBOC off the schnied. While Dave and our old roommate Mike Reidy will be with me at the frigid confines of Washington-Grizzly Stadium in Missoula, Montana (High temp of 39) to watch the Montana Grizzlies take on Cal Poly this weekend, there is a decent slate of bigger games on tap as well. The big one being Florida @ LSU with Tim Tebow being a game time decision. That makes the match-up in Baton Rouge a stay away game in my opinion.

I tend to follow the pac-10 closer than other leagues and the game that jumps out at me is the 4-1 Stanford Cardinal traveling to the always hostile Reser Stadium in Corvallis to play the 3-2 Oregon State Beavers.

Now Stanford has started strong with recent wins over UW and UCLA, both at the Farm in Palo Alto. They have one of the best backs in the Pac-10, bruiser Toby Gerhart who has already rushed for 650 yards. Their Frosh QB, Andrew Luck, has also played well during the first part of the season completing 62% of his passes and managing the game. The only loss for Stanford has been on the road to ACC’s Wake Forest. While Stanford is solid and better than past years under second year coach Jim Harbaugh winning a night game in Reser will prove daunting.

Oregon State has struggled a little at home this year losing to both juggernaut Cincinnati and resurgent Arizona in tight ball games. They did however get a key pac-10 road win last week knocking off Arizona State in Tempe. They counter with a dynamic rushing game of their own with the Rogers brothers. Younger and speedier Jaquizz has gone for 500 yards while elder brother James averages over 6 yards a carry. OSU also has allowed only one team over 100 yards rushing as a team this season.

Fulfilling my duties as field correspondent, I asked Sarah Jean Underwood, Oregon State graduate and 2007 Playboy Playmate of the year, what she thought about my choice, and she started laughing because she thought it was a total layup. She immediately made a bet with her bookie and wrote down the 1 point line in disbelief (see photo to Left).

I like OSU to win outright in this game and cover the 1 point that they are favored by. OSU will find it’s rhythm playing in front of a home crowd at night and Toby Gerhart will find tough sledding against a stout Beaver run defense. Stanford will fall back in the Pac-10 with a loss on Saturday and further complicate the race for the Roses......... I’d lay a bet on it!